Delas Freres St Joseph Saint Epine 2001

Delas Freres is a winery of tradition and renewal. Founded 160 years ago in the heart of the northern Côtes du Rhône, the winery enjoyed the dynamism of its original founders and their heirs and more recently, the renewed energy of the Lallier-Deutz family, owners of champagne house, Champagne Deutz. Today, the Delas wines are crafted by a panel of experts headed by winemaker Jacques Grange. Together, the team makes wines that have been heralded for their intensity of flavor and excellent value.

The vineyards of Saint-Joseph cover more than 35 miles from Chavanay in the North, to Guilherand in the south, on the right bank of the Rhone river. The soil is gravel comprised of schist and gneiss rock over granite. The climate is moderate, with dry hot summers and normal rainfall the rest of the year. The vineyards have south and southeastern sun exposure. The production area is 1,964 acres yielding 564,982 gallons per year. The maximum yield is 352 gal/acre.

The "Sainte-Epine" grapes are harvested by hand, at optimum maturity. Fermentation takes place in traditional, open-topped concrete tanks, after three days of pre-fermentary skin contact at cool temperatures. Maceration continues at controlled temperatures of 82-86 degrees Farenheit. Cap pressing and pumping takes place daily, with a total maceration period of up to 20 days. After devatting and pressing, malolactic fermentation is carried out in oak barrels.

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